Oakland MP crackdown

[blaccjacc]

Oak Officials Take Aim At Massage Parlors

City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente says a 36-percent jump in the number of requests for massage parlor permits caught his attention.

Five of Oakland's eight massage parlors are in Chinatown. Three are being investigated for allegedly fronting prostitution.

Community leaders say enough is enough.

Carl Chan, Chinatown Chamber of Commerce: "For those who are trying to run any illegal business, or using the massage business as a front to run any illegal activities, this is the wrong city."

xxxxx, massage therapy client: "My main concern would be that legitimate massage parlors not find legal restrictions on the work that they do, because it's an important therapy for people who need it."

Proposed regulations include background checks for massage parlor employees and a ban on parlors within 1,000 feet of a school or park.

[Hard to believe there has never been an Oakland post before and I'll be popping the cherry on this forum...glory may not always go to the diligent and hardworking, but, then again...sometimes it does ]

[blaccjacc]

JUNE 10, 2005
Massage parlor law targets prostitution
New limits aim to shut down illegal operations in Chinatown
By Heather MacDonald, STAFF WRITER

OAKLAND — City officials are hope-
ful new restrictions will stop the proliferation of massage parlors in Chinatown and shut down prostitution fronts.

The changes, approved unanimously Tuesday night by the Oakland City Council, limit the parlors' hours of operation and prohibit them from setting up shop within 1,000 feet of a school, library, youth center, park or another massage establishment.

Council President Ignacio De La Fuente (Glenview-Fruitvale) said the changes were part of a comprehensive plan to combat a surge in prostitution in Oakland.

"The law failed to protect neighborhoods and city residents, especially women exploited by these businesses," De La Fuente said. "We have corrected that."

City officials recorded a 36.7 percent surge in massage therapist applications in 2004, with most of the first-time applications coming from Asian women, raising concerns that the massage businesses could be smuggling immigrants for use in the sex trade, according to city officials.

"This should send a message to illegal businesses: You are in the wrong city," said Carl Chan, president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce Foundation. [FORTUNATELY, you may still be on the right street!]

In addition, massage parlors must now obtain a special business permit from the city administrator's office rather than a conditional-use permit from the Community
and Economic Development Agency.
Under the new rules, therapists and business owners must maintain a client register and undergo background checks as well as receive training from an accredited school or have completed 3,500 hours as a masseuse.

The new ordinance also contains a number of exemptions for existing businesses and does not require beauty salons, hotels or therapists who work out of their homes to obtain establishment permits.

Massage parlors must have a reception area with a window to increase visibility.

But existing businesses that can demonstrate the changes are physically impossible are exempt, as are businesses that can demonstrate the changes would cause a financial hardship.